“We did it in the Allentown game,” Halliday said referring back to the team’s early lead against its CVC rival in the sectional final. “It helped us then and it helped us tonight. We had to keep on attacking. We always try to get the goals early. We put five in earlier this season in a game against Notre Dame and ever since then it has been like, ‘get some more early, get some more early.”

“I’m not all that surprised,” said coach Wayne Sutcliffe, who beat his brother, Mike, for the second time in a Group III semifinal.

“I would think it had to (stun them). You have to be sharp in the beginning. It happens at every level and I’m happy it happened for us here tonight.”

Lamb, who created havoc down the left-hand side, nearly made it three a couple minutes later. He blew past a pair of defenders but Bretschneider (11 saves) stopped his low shot.

The Little Tigers’ stingy defense did the rest.

Princeton came in having allowed 26 goals in 20 games and kept its clean sheet with seniors Arroyo and Juan Carlos Polanco marshalling the backline.

Goalkeeper Laurenz Reimetz was called into action just once, making a save with seven minutes to go, preventing a grandstand finish.

Halliday should have iced it seconds later when he found himself one-on-one with Bretschneider but sent his shot wide.

In the end, that hardly mattered.

“I’m excited to be back to the championship,” said Halliday, who watched from the stands as an eighth grader in 2009 while his brother, Zach, took part as a freshman.